But Laurcen, 29, quickly amended her statement after their
choice horse collided with another thoroughbred in the second race
on this season's opening day on Wednesday. The horse would be fine,
they heard, but hopes in the underwear quickly faded.

"I guess they aren't so lucky," Laurcen said.

Karkouti's underwear may not be his personal shamrock, but other
racetrack patrons of all ages and from all across San Diego County
have devised interesting and unlikely sources of luck. Common
theories on Wednesday included betting on the second horse in the
second race, the third horse in the third race, all the way up to
the sixth horse in the sixth race.

Some bettors have a certain color, number or horse name that
catches their eye; others pick a favorite trainer or jockey, and
some go along with experts from track publications.

More whimsical approaches preferred by several opening day fans
were laying bets on a horse that looks you in the eye or on the
last horse in the paddock to relieve itself before a race. Avoid a
horse drenched in perspiration before a race (too tired to have a
chance at victory). But one thing was clear: either always bet on a
gray horse or never bet on a gray horse.

"Never bet a gray horse," said longtime track patron Johnny
Walker, who said he lives out of a trailer parked by the track
every summer.

Begley, 74, has attended horse races at Del Mar for 20 years.
Last week, he purchased a green pencil and used it to circle the
names of two horses who turned out to be winners in the first two
races of the season. While confident in the color-of-money pencil,
he still had to pick a shirt.

"I have a good luck green shirt, but when you're not sure, you
wear white," said Begley, clad in a white buttoned-down shirt.

For Walker, sometimes the best betting tips come from his wife's
poodle. The couple take the poodle out to the horses' morning
workouts. The horses that the poodle barks at are "sure things" for
later in the day. The poodle's record stands at seven winners in a
row.

Walker's opponent on the gray horse issue, Jan Montes, bets on
other horses besides the first gray.

"If the word 'fly' is in the name, I bet on that one," Montes
said. Her theory proved profitable when Historic Speech, sired by
Set to Fly, finished in the money in the third race on opening
day.

A roll of the dice and a summoning of higher spirits lends some
to lay-down money on potential winners. Lenny Moss of Huntington
Beach has been coming to Del Mar for the races since he was a kid.
He said every night before the races, his parents would throw dice
against a wall and add the total together for the horse's starting
position. Sometimes they used a Ouija board.

"They had pretty good success. But I go with the experts," Moss
said.

A simple slip of the hand can let some bettors know if it's
their day or not.

"If my husband drops his program, he stops because he doesn't
win the rest of the day," Los Angeles resident Debbi Haines
said.

Dani Khasim and John King have a ritual they follow when they
come to the track. After picking the winner in the first race of
opening day, the only day they attend during the season, King
stands on the right side of Khasim because that is the side he was
standing when the bet was placed.

Khasim says she places all of the bets for the couple and does
all the research, but she goes to the same attendant at the same
betting window after picking a winner. They also save the best
cigars from the past year to smoke on opening day.

"I just hand her the cash; she has better luck than I do," King
said.

Encinitas resident Eric McMurphy said he feels security in
studying the horses rather than relying on luck but admitted that
it can be a guessing game.

"Sometimes a long shot comes in and I want to throw the thing
away," said McMurphy, referring to his racing program dotted with
vigorous notes.

Karen Bowman, who works at both the Del Mar and Santa Anita
racetracks, said she has seen it all.

"Horse racing fans," she said, "have to be the most
superstitious people in the world."